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thisisemily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Racial slurs, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Classism
tamika_j's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Maddie was a girl who had a heart but was never accepted because of her race and home life, her father history of abuse caused him to raise Maddie and keep her hiding as he seen fit as a black country man.
Be prepared for pain and revenge you want on so many people in this book.
Graphic: Child abuse, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Self harm, Mental illness, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Colonisation, Racism, Violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Stalking, Murder, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Death
mmiamuse's review against another edition
Graphic: Racism, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Mental illness
blep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Murder, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Racism, Mental illness, Violence, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny
Minor: Abandonment
taytayfondue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, Bullying, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Racism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, and Physical abuse
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Racism, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual content, and Vomit
tashtash93's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Death, Bullying, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, and Hate crime
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I wanted this to be a five star, but I think it missed a few key points for me.
I really loved the idea of a new twist on Carrie, bringing in an issue that is in our forefront right now and especially in 2020 when it seems like this book was written. I really appreciated the telling of a story about how mean high school girls can be to each other from the perspective of a female writer, but I think the story fell short here. There clearly was intersection between her being a woman and her being bi-racial that given the length of the book could have been used much better.
The main reason I say this is in Carrie the tension in Carrie's home is created by her mother being afraid for her purity and uses her religion heavily to keep that. She believes that any form of sexuality, including puberty, is sinful and is extremely abusive from that angle. Likely because of how she was treated by Carrie's father. In The Weight of Blood, Maddy lives with her father who treats her as his personal housewife because he clearly is one of those men who "long for a simpler time." He only watches old movies, listens to old music and is against new technology. This is never explained really, except that he does it to protect Maddy. He believes if he can teach her to dress and act like *white* homemakers from the 50s, he can protect her from what people will think of her being mixed. My confusion is that Maddy's femininity doesn't play that big of a role in her character development, except that it gets Kenny's attention. We get the root of all of Maddy's father's abuse and it is
Kenny is convinced by his girlfriend Wendy, who very much has a bit of white savior in her as well as "I don't see color" kind of attitude. She is also very hard to like, even though she gets the best redemption arc, because she is the type of girl who just does everything to have the dream future with the dream guy. Her life revolves around Kenny and Kenny's revolves around football. Kenny shows the most character growth in a way, because he starts trying to push back against his life being determined for him but that is only because he falls for Maddy. And he falls for her because she is "not like other girls." Which is not just me being snarky, it is literally written in a book published in 2022. I have no words, I thought we were past this or at least trying to be. There is also quite a bit that reminds me of those 2000s nerd to hottie movie transformations, because he starts noticing how pretty her eyes are when she starts to not wear glasses and then we get talks about her small frame and thin figure when she starts wearing skirts and "men's undershirts." Honestly, I am kind of sad that Jackson didn't bust out a blue chambray workshirt on us. I think the interactions between Kenny and Maddy and the insta-loviness was just a little too tropey for me.
I also really did not like the explanation we got at the end from Maddy's father on her true roots. It really felt like we were supposed to excuse his abuse of Maddy because he had his own trauma. Abusers often abuse, I don't think we need to be reminded of this and be given a seen where we are supposed to feel pitty for him.
Maddy did a lot of what she did for Kenny, which is from my memory a change from the original story. Carrie did it for herself. She may have had feelings for Tommy and she lashed out from being tricked, but its not the same as what happened here, I mean
I will say, Jackson can write. I appreciated her flow and descriptions the pace was nice and characters were developed, even if I didn't like the direction they were developed in. I really hated Jules, right down to her court testimony. I very loudly made a grumbled exasperated sigh noise of disgust when reading that part actually. I was actually upset with what happened to Kenny after the incident in the barn, and it wasn't all just in reaction to the type of event it was. I genuinely cared about him. I do wish we would have got more of his mother and sister, I liked them. His dad is a dick though.
Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Racism, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, and Gore
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Also: Tiffany D. Jackson I LOVE you.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Racism, Hate crime, Police brutality, Murder, Ableism, Violence, Child death, Mass/school shootings, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Blood, Infidelity, Mental illness, Bullying, and Animal death
Minor: Slavery and Self harm
there is no mass shooting in this book BUT there is a mass murder and i felt like i had to note it somehow.imstephtacular's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Bullying, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
Moderate: Confinement, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Torture, Classism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicide, Vomit, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Ableism, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Cancer, and Fatphobia